He’s My Brother She’s My Sister

Appearing live June 1 at BAR.

Their band name has both a frank literalness (the combo is co-fronted by singer-songwriter siblings Rob and Rachel Kolar) and a surprise-hiding humility (the sextet also features a stand-up bass, a cellist, a lap-slide guitar and a tap dancer, with an accordion in there somewhere too). Interestingly, their publicist’s business name is He’s My Manager Entertainment.

All this fingerpointing and identifying can be terrific fun. There’s individuality galore, but also no fear of covering a distinctive classic like Bowie’s Moonage Daydream (with vocal harmonies standing in for the studio pomp instrumental fade-out of the record). He’s My Brother She’s My Sister did both “Moonage” and their poppy original “Escape Tonight” on  NPR’s World Café broadcast this week, but it’s instructive to also check out the live video for HMBSMB’s slow, dreamy, strummy ballad “Wake Your Heart,” which demonstrates that this band, whose showy reputation has preceded it, also has a tranquil side. The band name, and the giddy interplay on a lot of their material, might come off as childlike, but HMBSMB aren’t as young as they sound, and there’s a real maturity in there too.

The L.A.-based band hasn’t toured the East Coast yet, and they crack New England for the first time on Wednesday, June 1 headlining the free weekly Wednesday series of fast-rising national acts at the downtown New Haven nightspot and pizza joint BAR.